The US sporting goods provider Under Armor Inc. felt the adverse market conditions in its home market in the third quarter of the 2023/24 financial year. The company reported a decline in sales and profits on Thursday, but stressed that the results were in line with expectations.
In the period from October to December, sales were 1.49 billion US dollars (1.38 billion euros). This means that it fell by 6.0 percent compared to the same quarter of the previous year (-7.1 percent adjusted for currency effects). The loss was due to the weak North American business. Revenue there fell by 11.8 percent to $915.4 million.
In the international markets, however, Under Armor achieved an increase of 7.4 percent (currency-adjusted +4.1 percent). In the EMEA region, which includes Europe, the Middle East and Africa, sales rose by 7.1 percent (currency-adjusted +2.0 percent) to $284.0 million, and in the Asia-Pacific region by 7.1 percent (currency-adjusted +7.5 percent) to 212.0 million US dollars and in Latin America by 9.4 percent (currency-adjusted +2.7 percent) to 69.8 million US dollars.
Despite a higher gross margin and cost reductions, earnings fell short of the same period last year. Operating profit fell by 26.6 percent to 69.5 million US dollars, net profit shrank by 6.1 percent to 114.1 million US dollars (106.1 million euros).
In view of the current figures, the company specified its sales forecast for the full year. A decline of three to four percent compared to the previous year is now expected, after a decline of two to four percent had previously been expected.